Daniela and Valentina are a lesbian couple from Padua. They’ve been in a registered civil partnership since 2019. Their daughter Caterina was born in August 2022. She was conceived through a sperm donation in Denmark. Their family’s happiness seemed perfect - until the new government under Giorgia Meloni came to power. This is because rainbow families challenge the right-wing government's understanding of a ‘natural’ family. It says that in the case of same-sex couples, only the biological parent can be registered on the birth certificate. As a result, the public prosecutor's office in Padua has challenged the birth certificates of several children in court - including Caterina's. If the judges declare the birth certificate invalid, the non-biological mother will lose all her rights. If Daniela's name is removed from the birth certificate, this will have far-reaching consequences. She’ll only be able to collect her child from school with a power of attorney. Travelling abroad alone with her child will be practically impossible. And she’ll no longer be able to make any decisions at a doctor’s appointment: "That's state power. They tell me with a few lines and cold words that I don't exist, that I have to step aside,” says Daniela. Italy’s right-wing government is defending the traditional Catholic family at the expense of minorities. Anything that doesn’t conform to this norm is discriminated against and criminalized. In this country, it’s illegal for same-sex couples to adopt, traveling abroad for surrogacy is banned and same-sex marriage is still illegal.

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